US Navy Antisub units in England

Anyone have any good research sites for US Navy VPB or VB units stationed in England during the war? Trying to find some info on a Ens William C. Essex possibly stationed at Dunkeswell RAF field that died on 1-12-44. Not having much luck...Thanks in advance.

 

No one listed here by that name.
US BUREAU OF NAVAL PERSONNEL - KILLED AND DIED, 1944

 

Are you sure of the name and that he died.

 

William G Essex, FC2, 6409372, USS Fiske (DE-143), died of wounds, August 2, 1944 is the only USN killed as a result of action with the surname Essex I can find. Accidental deaths are a bit more difficult to track down.

Over the years I've gathered the names of some 49,000 US naval aviators and 1800 NAPs who served during the war years. Just that I don't have your man in my listings does not mean he wasn't with one of the VB/VP/VPB squadrons (though I've used the rosters, war diaries, and reports extensively for the squadrons I've combed) operating out of RAF Dunkeswell, it simply means I have not run across the name "Essex" so stationed. Only aviator I have named Essex is Grant R Essex (250525) LTJG USNR AV(N) DOR 4/1/1944.

The only "William C" given and middle in my E listing (some 985 individuals) are William C Eardley Jr (368881), William C Eberle Jr (346844), William C Eichenberg (407290), William C W Endahl (346847), William Caveny Eberle Jr (368447), and William Clarence Edwards Jr (99798). No one surnamed Essex appears in either the July 1943 USN Register or the January 1943 USNR register. Your reported date of death would preclude appearance in the 1944 editions of the USN or USNR registers. Could someone have been commissioned, completed training, assigned to a squadron and killed within the gaps in the register publications? Sure, but it would be tight to meet a January 1944 date.

Not to say I've looked at all the 19th Group Coastal Command/FAW-7 squadrons, I'll have to go look at squadrons I've not yet checked . . . don't know if there's any in that lot, I check over the next couple of nights. But, most, most, of the USNR VP/VPB types of the squadrons concerned received their commissions and initial training at NAS Corpus Christi and I can confirm that there was no one named Essex who completed flight training there in all of 1943.

 

Have you tried contacting the Dunkeswell Memorial Museum?

There is an Essex W C on their memorial plaque

 

I’ve checked the available war diary, war history, action reports, & roster materials (and especially looking for losses, action or accidental, in January 1944) for VP-63 / VPB-63, VB-103 / VPB-103, VB-105 / VPB-105, VPB-107, VB-110 / VPB-110, VB-111, VB-112 / VPB-112, and VB-114 / VPB-114, all of which were stationed at some point in Great Britain at Dunkeswell, Pembroke Docks, St. Eval, or Upottery as full squadrons or as detachments. I can find no reference to an Ensign William C Essex.

I have however found one Willard Carl Essex, Ensign USN (309695) who died on January 12, 1944 in the Find A Grave website, but it says he was born, died, and is buried in Colorado. With that information, though, we can find that Willard C Essex was pre-war enlisted (3918634); he shows up in 1939 as an RM2c and later as an ARM1c, and we can find that he was promoted to ACRM on June 16, 1943. Alas, I can find no date of his being commissioned. Presuming these are the same gent, we can look in the 1944 USN Register deaths on active service section, and, yes, there he is, correct date. Perusing various casualty listings fails to find him as being lost as a result of action, so my guess is that he was either an operational lost at sea, in which case his head stone is commemorative, or he was killed in an accident, in which case his head stone could be either commemorative or actually mark his remains. The application for a government head stone was made on March 14, 1949, but that application date does not tell us much. It would indicate to me that, no, he did not die in Colorado.

 

Opana I haven't tried that yet... but I'm not the only one working on this right now. R Leonard, Thanks for the assist I also looked through some of what I could find on VPB-103, VB-105 and VB-110 and didn't find anything either. Your find of Essex in Colorado is getting in the target area as the researcher I'm trying to assist and the service member(Essex) is from that state...I know he was born or at least eventually graduated from Florence H.S.(Colorado) was stationed in Hawaii late 42 or early 43(maybe earlier) but somehow or at some point in time might be/die in England 44 and I have found/seen the Grave application form on Fold3. will try and look at my early info and maybe add to this post! thanks for the assist so far gents!!!!

 

Takao,
Thanks for that image and no I haven't tried to contact the museum but will give it a go! I did briefly breeze through their website or something....guess I should've looked around a bit more!

 

ok....apologies guys....
its Willard Carl Essex enlisted 1938 from Portland, Fremont County, Colorado.

Page 1 Headstone Applications, 1925-1963 - Fold3

this is the grave marker application